Transforming Informational Kiosk Solution Management with Canopy

Introduction

Discover how Canopy empowered our client, a global provider of secure money transfer services, to manage over 2,000 informational kiosk devices installed within retail locations. With Canopy, the client gained full endpoint visibility and control of content displayed, leading to increased uptime and simplified device management.

THE Client

Managed Services

Our client operates a large network of 2,000+ retail locations, offering global money exchange services. Crucial to their operations were over 2,000 informational kiosks, used to display current exchange rates and promotional content.

The Challenge

The client needed enhanced visibility and control over their deployed devices. They faced three primary obstacles:

  • Regular Content Updates: They required a system to update displayed content, specifically exchange rates every four hours and new promotional content that was updated regularly.
  • Overages: Their existing software, which was continuously calling the server, led to significant data overage charges each month if left unchecked.
  • Confirmation: The client lacked a system to confirm successful download and proper display of new exchange rates. Their only visibility was to manually remote into the device and check or wait for a complaint from a store about the down device.

"The initial challenge we had was verifying that all our units were online. We couldn't see that in one place before."
— Director of Technical Support
THE Build

Our client’s kiosk solution consisted of a Windows-based PC, a touch-screen kiosk, connectivity hardware (OptConnect), and content management system (CMS) software. They installed Canopy across these 2,000-plus solutions, giving the client visibility into each device’s operating status (online vs. offline), the last content update time and data usage. Canopy provided a holistic view of the client's kiosk solution ecosystem, ensuring optimal uptime. It enabled scheduled content updates, instantaneous alerts for uptime disruptions, and issue self-healing. By integrating with all device elements, Canopy facilitated real-time monitoring and remote management, enabling our client to streamline their operations.

"Canopy gave us central visibility for our units. It's the single dashboard for remote monitoring and management of our solution."
— Director of Technical Support
THE Results

The implementation of Canopy led to several tangible improvements:

  • Faster Software Updates: Canopy reduced the time required to deploy new software and content updates to these kiosks by 90% through automatic workflow routines and bulk actions.
  • Reduced Connectivity Spend: Canopy improved our clients ability to monitor and control the rate of gig usage, which significantly reduced the variability of their monthly internet bill.
  • Effective State Management: The client could quick verify kiosks connection, operation status, content accuracy, and data usage. Any deviation triggered an alert and Canopy-initiated fix.
  • Increased Uptime: With automatic actions such as remote updates and recovery, the speed of technical resolution improved, preventing outages and enhancing overall device uptime.

“No product on the market could tell me if my device was really doing what it needed to do. Canopy gives a holistic health report. I don’t care if the device is connected to power if it’s not in a fully functional state. Canopy lets us set the “desired state” and then alert us when a device is not meeting that state.”
— Director of Technical Support